Archives for July 2018

California fire officials say they are making progress as they battle several blazes burning in Northern California and that firefighters are focused on saving lives and homes.

Battalion Chief John Messina said Tuesday fire crews slowed the spread of one of the blazes into towns near Clear Lake, including Lakeport, a city of 5,000. He says the fire instead spread into the Mendocino National Forest.

Messina says fire crews focused their efforts on saving lives and homes and that’s why only 10 houses have been destroyed by two massive fires straddling Mendocino and Lake counties. No injuries have been reported. The Mendocino Complex Fires erupted over the past 24 hours, growing to nearly 75,000 Acres.

But he told a community meeting in Lake County that people should remain vigilant because fires can easily jump containment lines.

California fire officials say they are making progress as they battle several blazes burning in Northern California and that firefighters are focused on saving lives and homes.

Battalion Chief John Messina said Tuesday fire crews slowed the spread of one of the blazes into towns near Clear Lake, including Lakeport, a city of 5,000. He says the fire instead spread into the Mendocino National Forest.

Messina says fire crews focused their efforts on saving lives and homes and that’s why only 10 houses have been destroyed by two massive fires straddling Mendocino and Lake counties. No injuries have been reported.

But he told a community meeting in Lake County that people should remain vigilant because fires can easily jump containment lines.

A man faces drug and weapons counts after an incident Monday. Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Allen Court in the unincorporated area of Eureka for the report of a suspicious vehicle and occupant. Upon arrival, deputies made contact with the occupant of the vehicle, 26-year-old Bret Aaron
Hensley of Eureka. While searching Hensley and the vehicle, deputies located a dirk/dagger,
hypodermic needles and other drug paraphernalia.
Hensley was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of
possession of a dirk/dagger, possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of probation.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services has created an information line dedicated to assessing the needs of evacuees entering the county.
Evacuees entering Humboldt County are encouraged to call 707-441-5000 for information about
services available to them while waiting to return to their homes. This line will be staffed from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Resource information can also be found online athumboldtgov.org/incident.
The Eureka Community Health and Wellness Center in Eureka, is currently accepting patients who have been displaced due to wildfire. Evacuees are encouraged to visit this clinic for all non-emergency medical needs (including medication refills, breathing treatments and outpatient care). Evacuees who are experiencing a medical emergency should not visit this location, and should call 9-1-1 instead.
As with any disaster, community members wanting to provide aid to wildfire victims should only
donate to a legitimate and reputable agency. Locally, Pay it Forward Humboldt, Redwood Capital
Bank and United Way of Northern California are accepting financial contributions to aid wildfire
victims. For more information on how to donate, visit humboldtgov.org/incident.

$50,000 bail for a man banned from having a gun who authorities say was caught with one. On July 29, 2018, at about 7 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a
residence on the 1800 block of Buhne Street in King Salmon for the report of a man brandishing
a firearm and making criminal threats to a neighbor.
When deputies arrived on scene, they found 71-year-old Ronald Gene McGee sitting on his front
porch with a loaded firearm. Deputies learned that McGee cannot legally possess a firearm due
to a past felony conviction. McGee was taken into custody without incident.
McGee was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.

The Eureka Police Department has received an increased number of complaints regarding
scam calls to cell phones and land lines. It appears scammers are using spoofing
techniques to make it appear a local number is calling, often tricking people into actually
answering.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “Current technology makes it easy
for scammers to fake or “spoof” caller ID information, so the number you reported in
your complaint probably isn’t real. Without more information, it’s difficult for the FTC
and other law enforcement agencies to identify the actual caller.”
While scam calls are very annoying, there is little that can be done on a local level. Here
is what you can do and where you can report unwanted calls:
Make sure to sign up all of your phone numbers with the FTC Do Not Call
Registry. It can take up to 31 days for your registration to become active.
Report unwanted calls to the FTC.

The Northern California Community Blood Bank is announcing tthat Kate Witthaus has been named Chief Executive Officer by the Board of Directors. Witthaus is a 12 year employee of the Blood Bank, serving most recently as Director of Administrative Services. She is a proud universal blood donor and has given eight gallons during her tenure at the blood center. Kate holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Humboldt State University. Kate serves her community through volunteer service with the Mount Shasta Ski Patrol and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Posse Search and Rescue Team, and as a member of the Rotary Club of Eureka. When not working, Kate enjoys hiking, climbing, running and bicycling throughout the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

You need to watch out for more work being done on the sewer infrastructure in Eureka. Crews are replacing sewer laterals and installing of sewer clean outs in the vicinity of the Red Lion Hotel and Target. This phase of
construction is expected to last for one month. This work requires traffic control with detours around road
closures in the area and will be performed between the hours of 7:00am and 6:00pm, WEATHER PERMITTING.
There will be controlled traffic and detours at these locations, and motorists should expect short delays.

SCRAP Humboldt is seeking talented artists, who highlight the world of creative reuse in their art making practice, to apply to their first ever an Artist in Residence! They’re looking to inspire creative reuse and environmentally sustainable behavior by providing educational programs and affordable materials to the community, SCRAP is always looking for way to engage with makers and creative re-thinkers. SCRAP is offering two, two month long artist residencies this fall, September-October and November-December. This program will provide the time and space for guest artists to develop a body of creative reuse work and creatively explore new ideas incorporating a minimum of 70% creatively reused material. Applications can be found at scraphumboldt.org and are due by August 15th.